In France, there are a number of legal guarantees for purchasers of new property, which mean that you can buy your new home with complete peace of mind.

Reimbursement or completion guarantee
If a developer is unable to complete a project, you are entitled to recover any deposits and progress payments. Once work has begun, you can be sure that construction will be completed.

At that point, the seller and the different parties inspect the completed building or home, then it is delivered to the buyer. During this process you have an opportunity to thoroughly inspect your home and make certain that all work conforms to the contract.

Following this process, you are covered by four important legal guarantees:

Guarantee against visible (obvious) defects
This guarantee covers defects that are identified either during the delivery process or within one month after delivery. If any failure in workmanship is identified when the keys are handed over, making the building unlivable, you are entitled to withhold the outstanding 5% of the total price due until the problem is resolved. In most cases the developer agrees to remedy all defects as quickly as possible. The company responsible for executing the work will ask you to sign a discharge once the problems have been corrected.

Guarantee of completion
This mandatory guarantee requires the developer or the builder to repair any defects that affect fixtures and facilities that are not an integral part of the building structure. It runs for one year after delivery.

Two-year guarantee of good working order
This two-year guarantee covers defects involving elements that are not an integral part of the basic structure (or “shell”), such as radiators, shutters, sanitary installations, etc., which are not covered by the ten-year guarantee.

Ten-year guarantee
During the ten years from completion, this guarantee covers all defects that compromise the solidity of the building or make it unfit for living.

Qualitel Label
Qualitel is a performance label certifying that new buildings meet certain standards regarding the quality of the plumbing, electrical fixtures, durability of roofs and facades, soundproofing, summer insulation and projected heating and hot water costs.

Promotelec Label
The Promotelec label guarantees that your electrical installation meets quality, performance and safety standards. This covers electrical fixtures, heating, electric hot water heaters, insulation and ventilation.

Green Labels
Habitat & Environnement is a label certifying that a new building will have minimal environmental impact throughout its lifecycle. To earn it, developers must begin by ensuring that their construction is integrated with the surrounding natural habitat and mitigate disamenities from the construction work, by effectively managing waste, respecting the community and keeping neighbors informed. The program is assessed according to several criteria: energy efficiency, choice of environmentally sensitive materials, water saving fixtures, efficient soundproofing and insulation, and features that promote good environmental practices by residents, such as selective waste sorting.

HQE (High Quality Environmental) is an initiative that promotes this same environmentally-friendly approach to building. It is not a standard or label, but denotes “green” property developments that efficiently manage their environmental footprint. Although developers express concerns regarding the added cost of environmental quality in a market where prices are already extremely high, more and more of them are willing to embrace this type of initiative. This reflects the growing importance homebuyers place on environmental issues, especially saving energy and optimizing water use.

The HPE
(High Energy Performance) label expresses a new building’s compliance with French energy-use legislation. It is awarded to buildings that not only deliver thermal efficiency but are also certified for the safety, durability and operating efficiency of their heating, hot water, air-conditioning and lighting systems, as well as their overall quality.

The HPE (High Quality Environmental) label currently has 4 levels:
- The HPE 2005 "High Energy Performance)label" designates standard energy use that is 10% lower than the regulatory benchmark.
- The THPE 2005 "Very High Energy Performance" label designates standard energy use that is 20% lower than the regulatory benchmark.
- The HPE EnR 2005 and THPE EnR 2005 labels are based on the same requirements as the HPE 2005 and THPE 2005 standards but contain additional requirements for renewable energy installations.
- The BBC / Bâtiment Basse Consommation Energétique label is awarded to new or renovated buildings whose primary energy use (heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, ventilation and lighting) does not exceed a performance threshold of 50 kWhEP/m², which is significantly lower than the current legal requirement. The maximum energy consumption value is weighted by the application of a coefficient based on the altitude of the building and the climate zone defined by RT 2005.

A BBC-certified dwelling must incorporate several energy-saving design features:
Special insulation, which eliminates most of the thermal bridges
• An airtight barrier, especially in leak-prone areas
• Continuous ventilation control to ensure air quality and comfort
• Optimum orientation to ensure maximum natural light
• A solar domestic hot water system

BBC certification offers numerous financial and tax benefits for homebuyers.